Kanye West was honored with the prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night, when he used his acceptance speech to announce his 2020 presidential run, as previously reported by HNGN, and the hip-hop artist is quickly gaining followers.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters jokingly that he would welcome the 38-year-old rapper's presidential bid and said he would look "forward to seeing what slogan (West) chooses to embroider on his campaign hat," the Associated Press reported.
In Maryland, a conservative activist named Eugene Craig III submitted an application to the Federal Election Commission to register the "Ready For Kanye" committee, CNN reported. Craig is a self-proclaimed grassroots activist and liberty Republican, according to his Twitter handle. No word yet on whether Craig is serious about West as a candidate or if he filed the application as a joke.
West even gained recognition from the Democratic Party and was mentioned on its official Twitter account, the AV Club reported. The account welcomed West to the Democratic Party with a tweet to its 408,000 followers, along with a GIF of the rapper during his VMA speech.
"Last night @kanyewest declared his candidacy for president in 2020," the tweet read. "Welcome to the race, Mr. West. Glad to have you."
See the Democratic Party's tweet below.
Last night @kanyewest declared his candidacy for president in 2020. Welcome to the race, Mr. West. Glad to have you. pic.twitter.com/RKRWuRhSxv
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) August 31, 2015
